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Skimboarding or skimming is a boardsport in which a skimboard (much like a surfboard but smaller and without fins) is used to glide across the water's surface to meet an incoming breaking wave, and ride it back to shore. There are currently 3 U.S. based competitive organizations including Premier Skim, Skim USA, and the United Skim Tour. Wave-riding skimboarders perform a variety of surface and air maneuvers, at various stages of their ride, out to, and back with, the wave. Some of these are known as "wraps", "big spins", "360 shove-its" and "180s". Unlike surfing, skimboarding begins on the beach by dropping the board onto the thin wash of previous waves. Skimboarders use their momentum to skim out to breaking waves, which they then catch back into shore in a manner similar to surfing.
Another aspect of skimboarding is "flatland," which involves performing tricks derived from skateboarding such as ollies and shove-its on the wash of waves without catching shore breaks. Skimboarding originated in Southern California when Laguna Beach lifeguards wanted to surf the local shore breaks that were too fast and shallow for surfboards. Skimboarding has developed since then to ride waves much like surfing, performing aerial maneuvers and pulling into the barrel of the wave. Professionals have even started getting towed by waverunners into much larger waves.
Recently a new type of skimboarding has appeared. Thanks to 4 times European champion, Adrien Raza, urban skimboarding is born. This way of skimboarding uses the city instead of the beach, which was the traditional way of skimming. According to Adrien Raza, he created this way of skimming due to a lack of good beaches near him. The main spots for urban skimboarding are fountains, canals, water mirrors, anywhere where there is a shallow body of water in the city.